You may wonder why I have chosen the picture of the name plate that sits beside the entrance of our home. I must confess it took me along time for me to place it there after my parents' deaths. And it is only very recently that I changed the name plate at the gate though Papa's name and thus my maiden name is still prominently displayed. There will be many stories about the house but today I just want to share one that shows how life does come full circle.
The first one that comes to mind is the day when Ranjan, after an inane and unnecessary argument the cause of which I forget, had declared one day: I will never set foot in this house (the one we all live in now!).
I had completely forgotten about this incident till recently when my elder child suggested we start looking at options to 'redo' the house which meant break it down and replace it with flats. One would have expected me to react violently as this is all I have left of my parents and every corner is replete with memories that come alive with very little prompting. But imagine my surprise when Ranjan reacted with unexpected passion and said he wanted to live in this house till his last breath. Wow! Had we not come full circle.
For those who have never been to my home, let me try to give you a quick walk around. Seen through the eyes only it is a two and half storeys building built in the style of the late sixties initially (one and a half a floor) and then added upon most illogically following needs and idiosyncrasies, mom's and mine. Before I change mode to heart mode, let me reiterate that this house was never rented! The first addition was after my marriage and the birth of my second child. Papa thought it stupid for us to pay rent and thus added two rooms on the first floor. Then much to everyone's horror I discovered Vastu and resorted to additions and deletions that made no sense to many. So the house has 2 staircases but is still not rentable as you cannot divide it into units. You have to come and see it. At some point after my parents' deaths, someone suggested I make more changes to stop looking at it as a mausoleum and refusing to end my mourning. Yes there was a time when I threw a fit if someone dared change the place of a chair. But it was time to move on, at least for the kids. I wanted a big kitchen so my old bedroom and mama's room after my marriage became a big kitchen. And when my in laws moved in to stay, I built a den on the second floor for the much needed isolation and space to keep my sanity. It does get a coat of pain now and then but the costs are prohibitive and the house being old damp patches are here to stay as well as cracks and peeling paint. As for the interiors if you look only with your eyes, you cannot find any adequate word do define the eclectic blend of styles. You see my parents were also people who functioned in heart mode so everything they bought was never an 'investment' but something they liked. And then arrived Ranjan who has strong likes in particular for old furniture and crystal. So the house is filled with chinoiseries that my parents bought, crystal and porcelain that we have in abundance as both Ram and Ranjan were posted to Prague. Paintings often bought by Papa to help struggling artists some have become famous, and all kinds of odds and ends from the countries we lived in. The prize possession of my parents was an ugly ceramic cat that I made when I was for, and our prized painting are two works executed by the grandson.
As you see the move from eyes mode to heart mode was surreptitious. This house defies logic, style and above all practicality. It is worn out, even a bit jaded but yet warm and welcoming. One does not see the cracks and patches but the lives of the people who built it and lived in it. People often ask me why I have given up travelling altogether. The answer is simple. I just want to stay home. I guess Ranjan feels the same. We have come full circle.
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